Flexible edge guard for cargo securement

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is disclosed for protecting the edges of cargo and freight from damage caused by contact with tie downs, cable, chains and/or straps used to secure the cargo or freight from shifting during transport. The disclosed invention helps eliminate slippage, dishing and abrasion of cargo caused by traditional devices used in the securement.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to cargo securement devices, and moreparticularly relates to an apparatus for protecting the edges of cargoand freight from wear caused by chains, straps and tie downs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

The edges of cargo and freight are often damaged during transportthrough contact with tie downs, chains or straps used to secure thecargo. Straps and chains can slip across the surface of cargo; causingabrasion, cracking, and dishing of the cargo.

Many types of cargo and freight are transported long distances via sea,air, truck, and the like. During transport, the very devices used tosecure and protect cargo, such as straps and chains, can damage thecargo, resulting in unnecessary insurance claims, unnecessary wear tostraps, and product losses.

Edge guards are known in the industry, which consist of rigid, angularlyshaped objects that trace the edges of regularly shaped containers andfreight packaging when overlaid on them, and provide a buffer betweensecurement straps and the cargo secured, reducing wear to the cargo.These edge guards are commonly called edge protectors or veeboards(because of the v-shaped angle of the cargo they are designed toprotect).

Cargo and freight containers, however, are not always regularly shaped.Their edges are not always uniform; and there are not edge protectors inthe prior art that can be adjusted to effectively protect the edges of avariety of irregularly shaped cargo.

Shipping organizations often are compelled to keep a large variety ofedge guards of different shapes and sizes on hand to meet their needs,rather than a single type of guard protector.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need existsfor an edge guard that can be adjusted to protect a variety of cargoedges and surfaces. Beneficially, such an apparatus would overcome manyof the difficulties with prior art by providing a means for humans toadjust the edge protector quickly and a means of reducing the number ofedge protectors needed to be kept by on hand by shipping companies.

The present invention has been developed in response to the presentstate of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems andneeds in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currentlyavailable information management systems. Accordingly, the presentinvention has been developed to provide an adjustable edge guard forsecuring cargo, the adjustable edge guard comprising a flexible sleevewhich comprises a first socket of a volume and shape to receive a firstboard, a second socket of a volume and shape to receive a second board,and an intermediate nylon member connecting, and affixed to, the firstsocket and the second socket, which intermediate nylon member spacesapart the first socket and second socket.

The adjustable edge guard further comprises a first board jacketedwithin, and permanently affixed within, the first socket; and a secondboard jacketed within, and permanently affixed within, the secondsocket.

In other embodiments of the adjustable edge guard, the first board andsecond board are flexible to trace uneven cargo surface edges. Infurther embodiments, the flexible sleeve is inflatable.

The first board and second board may be telescopic such that they can betelescopically adjusted to overlay varying lengths of cargo surfaces.The first board and second board may be removable and replaceable.

In still further embodiments, the first board and second board may becylindrical in shape. The adjustable edge may comprise a plurality offlexible sleeves, each jacketing a portion of the first board andjacketing a portion of the second board.

The adjustable edge may further comprise one or more layers of paddingoverlaying a portion of one or more of the first socket and the secondsocket.

In still further embodiments, the present invention discloses anadjustable edge guard for securing cargo, the adjustable edge guardcomprising: a plurality of elastomeric bands; a first board permanentlyaffixed to the plurality of elastomeric bands and gripped within theplurality of elastomeric bands; and a second board permanently affixedto the plurality of elastomeric bands and gripped within the pluralityof elastomeric bands.

These features and advantages of the present invention will become morefully apparent from the following description and appended claims, ormay be learned by the practice of the invention as set forthhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the advantages of the invention will be readilyunderstood, a more particular description of the invention brieflydescribed above will be rendered by reference to specific embodimentsthat are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are nottherefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the inventionwill be described and explained with additional specificity and detailthrough the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a top elevational perspective view of an adjustable edgeguard in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a top elevational perspective view of an adjustable edgeguard in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 1C is cross-sectional side view of an adjustable edge guard inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an adjustable edge guard in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of two adjustable edge guards inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3A is cross-sectional side view of two adjustable edge guards inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3B is cross-sectional side view of two adjustable edge guards inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of cargo covered by two adjustable edgeguards in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4A is an elevated perspective view of one embodiment of an edgeprotector in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 4B is an elevated perspective view of another embodiment of an edgeprotector in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus,appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” andsimilar language throughout this specification may, but do notnecessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics ofthe invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details areprovided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of theinvention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, thatthe invention may be practiced without one or more of the specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. Inother instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are notshown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of theinvention.

The schematic flow chart diagrams that follow are generally set forth aslogical flow chart diagrams. As such, the depicted order and labeledsteps are indicative of one embodiment of the presented method. Othersteps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function,logic, or effect to one or more steps, or portions thereof, of theillustrated method. Additionally, the format and symbols employed areprovided to explain the logical steps of the method and are understoodnot to limit the scope of the method. Although various arrow types andline types may be employed in the flow chart diagrams, they areunderstood not to limit the scope of the corresponding method. Indeed,some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only the logicalflow of the method. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting ormonitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps ofthe depicted method. Additionally, the order in which a particularmethod occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order of thecorresponding steps shown.

FIG. 1A is a top elevational perspective view of an adjustable edgeguard 100 in accordance with the present invention. The adjustable edgeguard 100 comprises a board 102 a, a board 102 b, a nylon sleeve 104 a,and a nylon sleeve 104 b.

The boards 102 a-b comprise, in the shown embodiment, flat rigid boardswith planar surfaces. The boards 102 a-b may comprise any rigidmaterial, including wood, polyethylene, polyurethane, metal, stone, andthe like.

The surface area of the boards 102 a-b, and consequently the size of theboards 102 a-b, may vary in magnitude from one square inch to ten squaremeters or more. The thickness of the boards 102 a-b may vary from lessthan a millimeter to more ten feet.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the boards 102 a-b may becylindrical in shape rather than rectangular or cubic in shape. In otherembodiments, they boards 102 a-b are flexible, so as to trace the edgesof irregularly shaped cargo.

The nylon sleeves 104 a-b each comprise two sockets with a volume andshape to receive the boards 102 a-b. The two sockets of each nylonsleeve 104 jacket the boards 102 a-b. In some embodiments, the boards102 a-b are insertably gripped by the sockets and removable. In otherembodiments, the sockets of the nylon sleeves 104 a-b are permanentlyaffixed to the boards 102 a-b using glues, staples, nails, or throughother means well-known to those of skill in the art. In someembodiments, the nylon sleeves 104 a-b are stretchable.

The nylon sleeves 104 a-b may comprise any durable and flexiblematerial, including spandex, elastomer, nylon, cotton, denim, and thelike.

An intermediary nylon strap 154 (described further in relation to FIG.1B) interconnects the nylon sockets of each of nylon sleeves 104 a-b andis affixed to both. In the shown embodiment of the present invention,the intermediary nylon strap 154 and the two sockets of nylon sleeve 104b are all formed from a single piece of nylon mesh folded over and sewnor hemmed in shape. In some embodiments of the present invention, thenylon sleeves 104 a-b is made of cloth, elastomer, or other durable,flexible materials well-known to those of skill in the art.

In some embodiments, the nylon sleeves 104 a-b are inflatable usingmeans well-known to those of skill in the art. When inflated, theswollen nylon sleeves 104 a-b may pad the cargo and safety straps incontact with the adjustable edge guard 100, thus protecting the cargoand/or straps, chain, cable, and the like from unnecessary wear onotherwise hard surfaces.

FIG. 1B is a top elevational perspective view of an adjustable edgeguard 120 in accordance with the present invention. The adjustable edgeguard 120 comprises a board 102 a, a board 102 b, and a nylon sleeve104.

The boards 102 a-b and nylon sleeve 104 are substantially describedabove in relation to FIG. 1A.

The shown embodiments is meant to illustrate that in some embodiments ofthe present invention, the adjustable edge guard 120 may comprise asingle nylon sleeve 104 of any length that is less than the length ofthe boards 102 a-b.

FIG. 1C is cross-sectional side view of an adjustable edge guard 150 inaccordance with the present invention. The adjustable edge guard 150comprises a board 102 a, a board 102 b, an intermediate nylon strap 154,padding 152 a, padding 152 b, padding 152 c, and padding 152 d.

The boards 102 a-b are substantially described above in relation toFIGS. 1A.

—1B

As previously described, the intermediary nylon strap 154 interconnectsthe nylon sockets and is affixed to both. In the shown embodiment of thepresent invention, the intermediary nylon strap 154 and the two socketsare all formed from a single piece of rectangular nylon material foldedover and sewn in shape.

The intermediary nylon strap 154 may be webbed. Alternatively, theintermediate nylon strap 154 may be stretchable and made from materialdiffering from the material used in the two sockets of the nylon sleeve104.

The pads 152 a-d comprise rectangular pads that cover one or moresurfaces of the nylon sleeve in whole or in part, or which cover one ormore surfaces of the nylon sockets. The pads 152 a-d may comprise anyviscoelastic material, including viscoelastic polymers such as memoryfoam, polyacrylate gels, cotton, cane wood, cloth, cardboard, and thelike.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an adjustable edge guard 200 inaccordance with the present invention. The adjustable edge guard 200comprises a board 102 a, a board 102 b, an elastomeric band 204 a, anelastomeric band 204 b, an elastomeric band 204 c, and an elastomericband 204 d.

The boards 102 a-b are substantially described above in relation to FIG.1A.

The elastomeric bands 204 a-d, in the shown embodiment, take the placeof the nylon sleeve 104 in previously shown embodiments. A plurality ofelastomeric bands 204 connect the boards 102 a-b.

The elastomeric bands 204 a-d circumscribe the boars 102 a-b, andcomprise flexible, rubber bands. In some embodiments, the elastomericbands 206 a-d may comprise spandex, nylon.

FIG. 2B is a lower perspective view of two adjustable edge guards 200 inaccordance with the present invention.

The edge guards 200 are shown from a lower perspective view foradditional clarification.

FIG. 3A is cross-sectional side view of two adjustable edge guards 100a-b in accordance with the present invention.

In the shown embodiment, the edges guards 100 a-b are loosely overlaidon cargo 302.

FIG. 3B is cross-sectional side view of two adjustable edge guards 100a-b in accordance with the present invention. The edges guards 100 a-boverlay a cargo 302.

In the shown embodiment, the edges guards 100 a-b are pressed firmlydown by straps, chain or tie-down over the cargo 302.

FIG. 3C is an elevational perspective view of cargo covered by twoadjustable edge guards 100 a-b in accordance with the present invention.The edges guards 100 a-b overlay a cargo 302.

FIG. 4A is an elevated perspective view of one embodiment of an edgeprotector in accordance with the present invention. The adjustable edgeguard 100 comprises a board 102 a, a board 102 b, and a nylon sleeve104.

The boards 102 a-b are substantially described above in relation toFIGS. 1A-3C. In the shown embodiment, boards 102 a-b are affixedtogether laterally along the boards' 102 a-b longitudinal axes.

In the shown embodiment, the nylon sleeve 104 comprises a single socket,rather than two sockets, into which both boards 102 a-b are inserted. Inthe shown embodiment, the nylon sleeve is made of a durable elasticmaterial which stretches to conform to the edges of irregularly shapedcargo when the edge guard 400 is overlaid across cargo.

FIG. 4B is an elevated perspective view of another embodiment of an edgeprotector in accordance with the present invention. The adjustable edgeguard 100 comprises a board 102 a, a board 102 b, an elastomericic band402 a, an elastomericic band 402 b, an elastomericic band 402 c, anelastomericic band 402 d, an elastomericic band 402 e, an elastomericicband 402 f, an elastomericic band 402 g, an elastomericic band 402 h, anelastomericic band 402 i, an elastomericic band 402 j, an elastomericicband 402 k, an elastomericic band 402 l.

The boards 102 a-b are substantially described above in relation toFIGS. 1A-4A. In the shown embodiment, boards 102 a-b are affixedtogether laterally along the boards' 102 a-b longitudinal axes.

In the shown embodiment, the elastomeric bands 402 a-l laterallycircumscribe the boards 102 a-b. In some embodiments of the presentinvention, the elastomeric bands 402 a-l are affixed to the boards 102a-b. In other embodiments, the elastomeric bands 402 a-l grip and holdthe boards 402 a-l in place.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

1. An adjustable edge guard for securing cargo, the adjustable edgeguard comprising: a flexible sleeve comprising: a first socket of avolume and shape to receive a first board; a second socket of a volumeand shape to receive a second board; an intermediate nylon memberconnecting, and affixed to, the first socket and the second socket,which intermediate nylon member spaces apart the first socket and secondsocket; a first board removably jacketed within the first socket; and asecond board removably jacketed within the second socket.
 2. Theadjustable edge guard of claim 1, wherein the first board and secondboard are flexible to trace uneven cargo surface edges.
 3. Theadjustable edge guard of claim 1, wherein the flexible sleeve isinflatable.
 4. The adjustable edge guard of claim 1, wherein the firstboard and second board are telescopic such that they can betelescopically adjusted to overlay varying lengths of cargo surfaces. 5.The adjustable edge guard of claim 1, wherein the first board and secondboard are removable and replaceable.
 6. The adjustable edge guard ofclaim 1, wherein the first board and second board are cylindrical inshape.
 7. The adjustable edge guard of claim 1, comprising a pluralityof flexible sleeves, each jacketing a portion of the first board andjacketing a portion of the second board.
 8. The adjustable edge guard ofclaim 1, further comprising one or more layers of padding overlaying aportion of one or more of the first socket and the second socket.
 9. Anadjustable edge guard for securing cargo, the adjustable edge guardcomprising: a plurality of elastomeric bands; a first board permanentlyaffixed to the plurality of elastomeric bands and gripped within theplurality of elastomeric bands; and a second board permanently affixedto the plurality of elastomeric bands and gripped within the pluralityof elastomeric bands.